Lucknowi khana

LIVING rich, savouring everything was a full-time occupation in the erstwhile province of Awadh or Oudh as it is sometimes called. Reminiscent of PG Woodhousian England, the bankas or the gentlemen and the begums or the ladies made sure each season and nuance produced richness in all aspects of life.

Where Lucknow gave us tehzeeb, beautiful jewellery and chikan embroidery, it also made an occupation out of eating. There were 1,300 varieties of mango alone, including Kali Ghata, Badlur Asmar, Suhagsisi, Shyam Sunder Kelwa Misri.

Foods have history in Lucknow. Tunda Kebab is so named because it was a specialty of an one-armed chef. The uniqueness of this kebab is the masala which is a zealously guarded family secret and prepared by women in the family. It is said to incorporate 160 spices. Kakori kebab is considered blessed since it was originally made in the place by the same name in the dargah of Hazrat Shah Abi Ahder Sahib with divine blessings.

The bawarchis and rakabdars of Awadh gave birth to the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. Their spread would consist of elaborate dishes like kebabs, kormas, kaliya, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, roomali rotis and warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used.

Lucknow is also proud of its Kebabs. The Kakori Kebabs, Galawat ke Kebabs, Shami Kebabs, Boti Kebabs, Patili-ke-Kebabs, Ghutwa Kebabs and Seekh Kebabs are among the known varieties. The 100-year old 'Tunde ke Kebab' in chowk is the most famous outlet for choicest Kebabs even today. The Shami Kebab was the most important of them all. Made from mince meat, the kebabs are round patties filled with spicy surprises and the tangy raw green mango. The best time to have them is May when the fruit of the mango tree is in its infancy. In other seasons the kairi can be substituted with kamrakh or karonda both having a tart flavour reminiscent of the raw mango. Lime juice is rarely used.

The seekh has long been considered a piece de resistance in the Awadhi dastarkhwan. Introduced by the Mughals it was originally prepared from beef mince on skewers and cooked on charcoal fire. Now lamb mince is preferred for its soft texture.

Korma a preparation of meat in gravy was an essential item of the Awadh dastarkhan. 'Biryani' was yet another item cooked in Dum style. The method imparted a typical Awadhi flavour to this rice preparation. The warqi paratha and sheermals are other sumptuous dishes of Lucknow that are simply a gourmet's delight.

Shah Deg, a winter specialty, is a legacy from Kashmiri settlers in the province. Jauzi Halwa Sohan, another winter delicacy, has dewdrops on wheat kept outside for a night as an essential ingredient. Zarda, a rice dish, is a picnic delicacy of Vasant (spring) when Wajid Ali Shah and his troupe would go dressed in yellow, the colour of spring in boats called bajras. Kundan Kaliya is a mutton dish prepared with gold leafs, no less!

Dastarkhwan, a Persian term, literally means a meticulously laid-out ceremonial dining spread. It is customary in Avadh to sit around and share the Dastarkhwan. Laden with the finest and the most varied repertoire of the khansamas (chefs), the Dastarkhwan of the raeis (the rich) were called Khasa (special).

Shami Kebab was what any dastrakwhan worth its name would consist of in the month of May when the mango was still raw (kairi). Nehari kebab is a post rain delicacy seasoned with mustard oil buried for nine months in a mud pot under a tree and opened after the rains. The mustard plant is harvested in February and March.

In Awadh the mustard oil is heated in large cauldrons till it smokes. Then it is passed through muslin cloth to remove any impurities. This oil is then collected and sealed in large earthenware pots or urns and buried in the earth, preferably under the shade of a tree or a cool place. It is left to mature for a period of 9 to 10 months, i.e. through the rainy season so that the oil is further cooled when the rain water seeps into the ground. Then it is dug up and is ready for use. The long period of underground storage transforms the oil to a granular texture which is used for cooking purposes.

An unusual offering is the Pasanda Kebab, picatta of lamb marinated and then saut`E9d on a griddle.

Nahari, a hot favourite of Awadh is a meat preparation with thick spicy gravy. In 'Pai ki Nahari' leg and other bones are cooked and bone juice is mixed with a mouth watering gravy.

Winters are dedicated to halwas of all kinds which came from Arabia and Persia to stay in India. There are several varieties of these, prepared from different cereals, such as gram flour, sooji, wheat, nuts and even eggs. The special halwa or halwa sohan which has four varieties, viz Papadi, Jauzi, Habshi and Dudhiya is prepared especially well in Lucknow.

The Jauzi Halwa Sohan is a hot favourite even today, but the art of preparing it is confined to only a few households. Prepared for the most part from germinated wheat, milk, sugar, saffron, nuts etc., it has love and patience as its vital ingredients. You need to appreciate the play of shabnam or dewdrops on the wheat kept out under the night sky for germination. For the rest the role of the morning sun and evening dew may remain a mystery.

Keynote Address to MBA – Hospitality students of Anna University

Keynote Address to MBA – Hospitality students of Anna University

Respected Vice Chancellor, Dr Suganthi, Dr Hansa, dignitaries off the Dias and friends -(pause)- happy morning. I am very excited to be here today to inaugurate the Xenia 11 with a keynote. I am also excited to be here in the Anna University –one of the best universities in the country and globally. I have visited Cornell, Yale and the Nanyang in Singapore but this is the first time I am in the Anna University. (pause) I am also excited to be here with all the enthusiastic participants who have taken the step to showcase and learn management skills in hospitality. You deserve a round of applause. Clap.

I am going to introduce a concept in the next 10-15 minutes which is peculiar to the hospitality. This is HQ.

All of you are aware that we have had a couple of rough years the past 2 years due to the economic downturn. Hospitality was not spared. The bright side is that during these times the consumers needs change and if we can spot the opportunities we come up with winner. Some of the iconic companies like Disney, GE, Hewlet Packard and Ritz Carlton were founded during downturns.

Though hospitality is part of the wide service industry, service and hospitality are two different things. Service describes the degree to which you have technically delivered a promise. Hospitality describes how you make the recipient of the service feel. It is measured by the degree to which the recipient feels you are on their side.

Hospitality requires human beings with special emotional skills. A couple of decades ago IQ formed the basis of success and later EQ was introduced as a fundamental for success as it dealt with interpersonal relationship skills. Hospitality requires a special quotient called the hospitality quotient or HQ. People with high HQ have skills like kindness, curiosity, empathy, focus, perseverance, clear and compelling vision, passion, pride and performance excellence besides basic competencies like communications etc. Hoteliers have come to realize this now more than ever that the quality of workforce is the key differentiator and are ramping up their recruitment and retention strategies.

It brings to my mind the lesson I learnt at a very young age when I visited a village near Guntur. The local Pehalwan used to teach the budding wrestlers and one of the exercises was to catch hens left lose in a pen. The boys used to run around and find it very difficult and keep shifting hens. . The pehalwan’s advise was : never change your hen, you can change your tactic, you can change your method but don’t change your hen. This was a lesson in focus and perseverance to goals. Never change your target or goal ever.

In 1963 a set of scientists did a study on the class at Harvard on goal setting. They found out that only 3 percent of the class had written down goal and 97 % had goals in their mind or not al all. After 25 years the same set were researched and it was found that the 3% with written goals had a net worth more that the 97% of the class and were most successful. Go down and write your goal down today. This clear and compelling vision for a future works.

Perseverance is a virtue with high achievers. How many of you like cricket? On 24th February’2010 Sachin Tendulkar scored a double hundred in an ODI for the first time by anyone. This has happened after 2900 ODI matches. Everyone including the news media was in raptures. Who knew the story of perseverance of the little master. In December 1989 , in the debut series of Sachin in the 4th Test match he came in at 4th wicket when India was 58 for 3 . He was 16 years old with curly hair and a frail physique. Waqar Younis was his at his best and bowled a short ball and injured Sachin and his nose started bleeding. The physio rushed in and the runner Sidhu advised him to retire hurt. Sachin was annoyed with this and took a stand “Main Keleega” (I will play) and went on to score 57 runs and put up a match winning partnership with Sidhu of 100 runs. This is what separates mere mortals from champions. The mental strength and attitude of the winner is the factor which brings out the best even though you have talent.

For years now businesses globally are using the marketing mix as a fundamental approach in marketing to gain market share and differentiate with the competition. Informally it is know as the “4 p” concept and later developed to 7 Ps. This is product, place, price and promotion. Most of these traditional P variables are defunct today due to the technology progress and changes in the business patterns. These P variables have a different perspective for a high touch industry like the hospitality.

Last year, I was to go to New York for the Radisson’s global conference and since I was going to New York I wanted to watch a Broadway show. I researched the internet and bought tickets for Mama Mia which is a smash hit show running to full houses from 2001 in the Winter garden theatre. I paid $ 110 for mid section seating. The day I landed in New York there was a snow blizzard and the entire city was shut. Anyways since I spent the money I went to the theatre and was amazed to see the welcome with hot chocolate. Unfortunately there were hardly 100 people in an 1000 capacity auditorium ! I was led to the front rows and thereafter got to see a smashing performance of almost 50 actors supported by the others.
That’s where I got the taste of the new perspective to marketing strategy and the 4 p’s.
I saw professionalism-the first P. First of all, the show could have been cancelled due to the poor attendance but they ensure that the show went on. Secondly, they offered us the front rows when they had an opportunity to delight. Second P was the passion: We saw pure passion of every cast member when they performed their roles even to such a small audience. Pride: Every person connected to the show from the ushers to the cast was so proud that they belonged to the company and we could make out their attitude and finally performance excellence: They did the entire 2 ½ hour show with the breaks and everything as they normally do. This is what is necessary to stand apart from competition and differentiate you and this can be done only by a team with high HQ.

I conclude my keynote and wish you a fruitful day of learning and a future where you will develop the HQ to be successful in your ventures.